Dec 28 (ANN) The LTTE has killed 10 more soldiers in a mine blast in Jaffna. The victims were off duty personnel on their way home. The objective that the terrorists are trying to achieve by persistently carrying out such cowardly attacks is obvious: They are desperate for a backlash in the south like that which generated a huge wave of sympathy for its terrorism in 1983. more..

Dec 28 (TN) People of Barathipuram, a Tamil village between Muttur and Killiveddy, located at 58th milepost, have complained to Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district parliamentarian that Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officials are preparing to establish a new camp in their village. more..

Dec 28 (TN) The leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. V. Pirapaharan, on Tuesday, paid tribute to the slain senior Tamil politician Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham in the Vanni. The body of the Tamil National Alliance paraliamentarian was taken to LTTE controlled Kokkadicholai on Monday and to Kilinochchi on Tuesday. more..

Dec 28 (SLA) The death toll of the Army soldiers assassinated in Tuesday’s claymore mine attack at PULOLY west, JAFFNA rose to twelve by Wednesday (28) early morning, as one more seriously injured soldier succumbed to injuries at COLOMBO National Hospital after he was airlifted. more..

Dec 28 (SLA) Suspected Tamil Tigers (LTTE), hell bent on provoking troops and the Police Tuesday (27) night carried out another barbaric attack on the family of a soldier killing the soldier inside his residence at TRINCOMALEE. more..

Dec 28 (SLA) Troops, attached to MAVADIVEMBU camp were able to trace one more claymore mine, designed to blow up troops, engaged in clear operations from the general area of MAVADIVEMBU, BATTICALOA on Tuesday (27) around 4.30 p.m. more..

Dec 28 (SLA) Tamil Tigers (LTTE) using unidentified men continued their sporadic grenade attacks on the Security Forces and the Police throughout the whole of Tuesday (27) after injuring one more soldier at PASAYUR, JAFFNA. more..

Dec 28 (SLA) Two more bicycle-riding suspected Tamil Tigers (LTTE) had fired at one more Police Constable on duty near the Special Task Force (STF) roadblock in VAVUNIYA Tuesday (27) evening at about 4.30 p.m. more..

Dec 28 (ISL) Douglas Devanada, the Minster of Social Welfare and Social Service told in Parliament that immediate steps had been taken to enhance the social standards of Sri Lankans. He also stressed that special projects are being planned and implemented to serve the Northeast public that had been having worst social standards in the island. more..

Dec 28 (LM) The expulsion of Muslims from the North in 1990 and its consequent impacts, last year's tsunami natural disaster that struck the community the worst and the agonizing condition of Muslim slum-dwellers of Colombo are three grave problems presently being encountered by the community, more..

Dec 28 (LT) A website - ‘Puthinam’ based in Norway says that Eric Solheim has been removed from the coordinator role in peace process. Eric Soleheim is the Minister for International Development in the newly established Norwegian Government. According to the report he has been removed from this role to carry out the obligations of his Ministry. more..

Dec 28 (AT) The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has called upon the Government to immediately take corrective action by dismantling all clandestine relationships, which would be the only way to infuse any confidence in the peace process. more..

Dec 28 (SAMN) A protest campaign is to be staged by Tamils in Chennai, India on Friday against visiting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, puthinam.com website reported yesterday.The website quoted organisers as saying the protest to be staged on Friday morning was against the “hidden war” allegedly carried out by the Sri Lankan government in Jaffna. more..

Dec 28 (SAMN) The opposition group of the Kandy Municipal Council, led by Sena Dissanayake, rejected Mayor Kesara D. Senanayake's surplus budget for 2006 on the grounds that its accounting was grossly erroneous. Dissanayake pointed out some serious discrepancies in the Mayor's statement. more..

Dec 28 (SAMN) The turmoil stricken Jaffna University, currently shutdown to prevent further clashes between undergrads and the army would not re-open as scheduled on January 2 if violence in the peninsula continues to escalate, education sources in the north said. more..

Dec 28 (LNP) An attempt by the Deputy Minister of Media and Highways Segu Issadeen to form the South-East Muslim Nationalist Movement received a severe setback on Sunday. The proposed Movement, aimed at looking after the interests of North-East Muslims, was to be formed at a meeting Issadeen convened at the Town Hall, Samanthurai. more..

Dec 28 (LNP) A special investigation unit of the Criminal Investigations Department took into custody sub-inspector G.T. Samantha Bandara of the reserve police who had in his possession two gold plated Buddha statues of archaeological value, a stock of live bullets and several rubber stamps of high state officials. more..

Dec 28 (LNP) Colombo this week became the latest destination on the Emirates network to receive the award-winning airline`s innovative internet check-in facility. Emirates` passengers departing from Colombo can now select and secure their preferred seats online, and check in for their flights from the comfort of their homes, hotels or offices, by logging on to www.emirates.com. more..

Dec 28 (IRNA) India has provided Sri Lanka with two indigenously developed military radars on the eve of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's maiden visit. The transfer of the radars, to enable low-level detection of fighter aircraft, marks the resumption of non-lethal military aid after five years. more..

Dec 28 (DPA) The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry has placed restrictions on foreigners traveling to rebel-controlled areas in the north and eastern parts of the country amidst escalating violence in the region, officials said on Wednesday. more..

Dec 28 (AFP) Sri Lankan cricketers returned to New Zealand with Marvan Atapattu, their captain, urging his players to focus on the one-day series starting Saturday and not to be distracted by the anniversary of the tsunami that devastated parts of their country a year ago. more..

Dec 28 (NT) Indian Ocean system has undergone geo physical and geomorphological changes after tsunami. So, the Sethusamudram project has to be reviewed. This was what speakers said at the workshop organised by the Hindu Media Resource Centre and M S Swaminathan Research Foundation said. more..

Dec 28 (BBC) Two converted Routemaster buses have been sent to Sri Lanka to help those affected by last year's Tsunami. London charity Teardrop Relief has sent two open top buses to aid orphans in Tangalle in the south of the island. more..

Dec 28 (DN) Complaints against sound pollution within the Colombo city have gone up during this festive season. "We are receiving an increasing number of complaints regarding sound pollution during this festive season," Colombo Municipal Council's (CMC) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam told the Daily News yesterday. more..

Dec 28 (RW) A high level team from the Italian Government led by a former Prime Minister of Italy Gullano Amato is in Sri Lanka to assess the progress of 42 projects launched with Italian Government assistance for rehabilitation of tsunami affected areas in the Southern and Eastern Provinces. more..

Dec 28 (AFP) Sri Lanka's peace broker Norway has urged Colombo and Tamil Tiger rebels to immediately resume talks to save a truce facing collapse amid rising violence that claimed over 80 lives this month. more..

Dec 28 (Reuters) Using rings and other belongings, Sri Lankan officials tried to identify 12 soldiers killed in a mine blast, the latest attack on the military by suspected rebels that has raised fears of a return to civil war. more..

Dec 28 (AFP) President Mahinda Rajapakse met here with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a bid to secure New Delhi's increased involvement in the island's troubled peace process. The two leaders began talks at noon (0630 GMT) on Wednesday, a foreign ministry spokesman said. more..

Dec 28 (Reuters) A Tamil boy collects small fish dropped from fishing nets at Polikandy fishing village in Jaffna. Watching fish auction in Sri Lanka's tsunami battered north, more..

Dec 28 (Reuters) India said on Wednesday it was concerned about rising violence in southern neighbour Sri Lanka and called for the resumption of peace talks between Colombo and Tamil Tiger rebels blamed for a spate of attacks. more..

Dec 29 (Geo) Pakistan's women cricketers fought hard against Sri Lanka but lost by a narrow 14-run margin in the opening match of the Asia Cup at the National stadium on Wednesday. Chasing 179 to win, Pakistan needed 15 off the last over but lost their last wicket off the second ball. more..

Dec 29 (PTI) Sri Lankan Naval personnel have assaulted fishermen from this island and snatched their "prawn catch" worth Rs. 5-lakh, fishermen association sources said today. They said the personnel attacked the fishermen who were catching fish near Kachathivu yesterday after firing in the air. more..

Dec 29 (AP) India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday called for the early resumption of peace talks with Tamil rebels to prevent the island republic from plunging back into civil war, an Indian official said. more..

Dec 29 (AT) Amidst mounting criticism against his party, Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) Vice President R. Yogarajan vowed to proceed with the 'broad based Tamil alliance', despite a series of hiccups, including statements against his party's commitment to such an alliance. more..

Dec 29 (AT) The Government of Sri Lanka says that it is now working with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission-IOC, World Meteorological Organization –WMO and the Intergovernmental Coordination Groups for the development of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Early Warning System -IOTWS. more..

Dec 29 (Hindu) Amid fears of collapse of the Sri Lankan peace process, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Wednesday agreed on the urgency to begin talks, aimed at shoring up the ceasefire between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan armed forces. more..

Dec 29 (Bloomberg) Sri Lanka's economy probably grew in the third quarter at the second-fastest pace in a year on near- record exports of agricultural products such as rubber and tea. The South Asian island's economy expanded 5.6 percent in the three months to Sept. 30 from a year earlier after a previous gain of 6 percent, more..

Dec 29 (TN) "It is the occupying Sri Lankan forces that have unleashed violence on the Tamil people. Destructive effects of such crimes will likely boomerang on the Sinhala armed forces. The Sri Lankan Government is solely responsible for controlling its armed forces to bring back normalcy," more..

Dec 29 (AT) War will never be a solution to a Tamil Eelam. Even in case Tamil Eelam is achieved by war, there will be continuous clashes between the Tamil ‘Desam’ and the Sinhala ‘Desa.’ Therefore it is important to live and let live and give peace an opportunity, admonished the coordinator for the London based organizing Committee for the Tamil Unity. more..

Dec 29 (AT) The London based Tamil Information Centre, understood to be a pro-LTTE organization has expressed grief and concern over the killing of the Tamil National Alliance Member of Parliament Joseph Pararajasingham and also express their concern over the ongoing killings of the members of parliament, more..

Dec 29 (TN) North East Provincial Education and Cultural Ministry released a short film "Thuduppu" (Oar) and a compilation of selected paintings of students in the province to mark the first year anniversary of the tsunami. more..

Dec 29 (GI) British tourist Matthew Bain, 12, from Warwickshire, England plays cricket with Sri Lankan boys in a neighborhood of new homes for Tsunami victims on December 27 in Galle. His family came back again after experiencing the Tsunami last year. more..

Dec 29 (ISL) LTTE claims that the Sri Lankan armed forces had destroyed Kittu's memorial this week. "The memorial park in Nallur dedicated to Colonel Kittu was found destroyed Tuesday morning. It is alleged that the park was destroyed by Sri Lankan Army (SLA) from members at the SLA camp located at the Mutturai junction, close to the memorial park. more..

Dec 29 (ISL) Tissa Attanayake, the General Secretary of the UNited National Party yesterday in a news conference said that the government and the LTTE must immediately start peace talks to prevent the country from another protracted war. more..

Dec 29 (ISL) Police said that they arrested 153 people in a special operation done within the last 5 days in Mt Lavinia. Police sources claim that there were many LTTE suspects and underworld members among the arrested persons. Police spokesman claims that the police will continue to launch several special operations to clear the Colombo and Western province from LTTE and underworld members. more..

Dec 29 (TP) H D Premaratne, an award-winning Sri Lankan film director, died on Tuesday at a private hospital in Colombo. The 63-year-old director worked as a consultant to the private TV channel Swarnavahini and produced several Sinhala films including Sapthya Kannya, Muhudu Lihini, Palama Yata and Hasthi Viyaruwa.

Dec 29 (TP) All commercial banks in the northern town of Jaffna, plagued by Tamil rebel attacks on military convoys and protests by residents in the past month, have been ordered to close by Tamil rebels, bank officials said yesterday. more..

Dec 29 (Dawn) Following the killing of a Tamil member of Parliament on Saturday midnight and the killing of a total of 28 Sri Lankan soldiers in the past three weeks, peace facilitating Norway sent warning signals on Monday stating that Sri Lanka was heading towards civil war. more..

Dec 29 (Reuters) Troops beefed up security in Sri Lanka's restive east on Thursday ahead of the funeral of a pro-rebel MP gunned down at Christmas mass, as an escalating rash of attacks stokes fears of a return to civil war. Sporadic attacks continued overnight near rebel-held territory. more..